Category Archives: Chase

Visa Business Card Bonus: Earn $100 After Spending $5000 in May and June

Business Cards, Chase, Sweepstakes

I just received the following offer on my Chase Business Rebate card:

Register your Chase Visa Business Rewards Card at chasebizbonus.com/enroll and spend $5,000 or more between May 1 and June 30, 2008 and you’ll get a one-time $100 cash bonus. Your $100 cash bonus will automatically appear as a credit on your statement within 8 weeks of the end of the promotion.

In addition, when you use your card in May and June, you’ll be automatically entered into a sweepstakes to win a Grand Prize of a $30,000 check.

After doing a bit more investigation, I found that any Visa Small Business credit card should be eligible for this promotion. You can see more details about this promo at www.visabizperks.com.

6 comments

Earn $10 or 1000 Points By Using Blink with your Chase Freedom Visa

Chase

Make 3 purchases with your Chase Freedom Visa card using Blink by June 6, 2008 and you’ll receive either a $10 statement credit or 1000 points.

The terms of the offer additionally state:

Only transactions made with the Visa payWave feature during the promotional time frame are eligible for this offer. Visa payWave transactions occur when the card is waved in front of the secure reader at checkout. The reader will indicate that the Visa payWave transaction has been processed. Transactions not eligible for the offer include swiped transactions, online transactions, PIN, ATM and other transactions not processed over the Visa network.

“Blink” is Chase’s contactless technology, allowing cardmembers to hold their card near a point-of-sale reader at checkout instead of swiping their card. For a list of merchants that accept Blink, visit chaseblink.com. (Via SD)

2 comments

Green Credit Cards: An In-Depth List

Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, FIA, HSBC

With Earth Day rapidly approaching, we have a good excuse to review our green options when it comes to plastic (or corn, if you prefer). After all, even Leo DiCaprio has recently been touting a new HSBC green credit card for the Hong Kong market. What does it mean for a credit card to be green? Well, the HSBC card is made from environmentally-friendly materials, requires the use of digital billing to cut down on paper waste, and donates a portion of each charge towards a local environmental protection project. While that card is not available in the US yet, there are a number of other green credit cards already here.

Green Credit Cards
Here’s a rundown:

  • The Brighter Planet Visa
    Every $1,000 spent in purchases with the card earns 1,000 points that will fund an estimated 1 ton of carbon offsets. In addition, you’ll earn 1,000 bonus points with your first transaction and another 1,000 points for using paperless statements. Also, until December 2008, Bank of America will match each two base points earned with the contribution of another point, equivalent to a 50% bonus.
  • World Asssets Visa Signature Card
    For every purchase made on the card, 10 cents will be donated to nonprofit groups like the Ocean Conservancy and Global Fund for Children. In addition, the card earns WorldPoints which can be used towards cash rewards, travel rewards and more.
  • Salmon Nation Visa
    A percentage of the income derived from the Salmon Nation Visa program goes directly to Ecotrust, a conservation organization aiming to strengthen communities and the environment from Alaska to California.
  • GE Earth Rewards Credit Card
    This card from GE Money allows you two rewards options: 1) You can choose to contribute either a full 1% of your net purchases to emission reduction projects or 2) 0.5% towards emission offsets and 0.5% cash back for yourself. On Earth Day each year you’ll receive a statement that shows how your reward was spent to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • World Wildlife Fund Card
    1% of each purchase will go towards the World Wildlife Fund, an organization with a mission to save endangered species and protect endangered habitats. In addition, Chase will donate $50 for each new account opened online.
  • GreenPay MasterCard
    For each net $1 spent on gasoline and household utilities, the GreenPay Rewards program will provide 10 pounds of carbon offsets. For each $1 spent on everything else, the program will provide 5 pounds of carbon offsets. In addition, 10,000 pounds of CO2 will be removed as a first purchase bonus.
  • Nature Conservancy Visa
    0.65% of your net purchases will go to the Nature Conservancy, a leading conservation organization committed to protecting ecologically important lands and waters. In addition, new card members will receive a complimentary 1 year membership and subscription to Nature Conservancy magazine.
  • Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Rewards Platinum Plus Visa Card
    With each card purchase, Bass Pro Shops and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will make a contribution to help conservation efforts, with a guaranteed yearly contribution as high as $1.5 million, at no additional cost to you. You’ll also receive a $25 gift card after your first use.

Green Rewards Programs
Credit card issuers have expanded your rewards options recently, so that even general-use credit cards can earn green rewards. Here’s a sampling:

  • Wells Fargo Enhanced Rewards
    Wells Fargo credit card users can enroll in an optional rewards program where the points that they earn can be used towards various green rewards, such as a solar charger or a garden composter. You can also choose to redeem reward points to support renewable energy projects and receive certificates for your donations. Enrolling in the rewards program costs $19 (or 2,000 points) a year for your credit card only, or $29 a year to enroll both your credit card and Check Card.
  • Bank of America WorldPoints
    Bank of America offers any of its credit card holders who earn WorldPoints to redeem them for a wide range of eco-friendly products and projects. Any Bank of America credit card that earns WorldPoints is eligible to earn these rewards at no additional cost.
  • Citi Thank You Network
    As part of its Thank You rewards network, Citi also offers a range of environmentally-responsible rewards. For instance, your Thank You points can be redeemed in exchange for having trees planted or for energy-saving CFL light bulbs.

Another Green Alternative
There’s also another option to consider when going green: instead of selecting a credit card specifically because it is green, you can always choose the best cash back card available and donate the cash rewards to your favorite environmental cause. It is slightly less convenient, but there at least three obvious benefits: 1) any donations will be tax-deductible, 2) you should be able to earn more rewards for your charity, and 3) you’ll have more choice as to exactly how your money is spent.

Regardless of the card you choose, chances are your issuer allows and even encourages your use of electronic-only statements. That’s one sure-fire way to get greener, and save both trees and gas.

Leave a comment

Amazon.com Visa: $20 off $200 on Electronics, Computers and Cell Phones

Chase

A number of promo codes are currently available to Amazon.com Visa card holders, valid until May 15, 2008:

  • $20 off $200 on electronics, computers and cell phones: 2IK9E6R8
  • 10% off $50 on music : CDJLXT8U (Limit $20 per customer)
  • $5 off $50 on DVDs: DVD5BFHR

Only one offer of each type is allowed per household, and it does not appear to be targeted, meaning that any Amazon.com Visa can be used. (Via FW).

Leave a comment

Office Depot Worklife Rewards Visa: 5% Rebate on All Office Depot Purchases

Cash Back Cards, Chase

Chase just announced the release of the Office Depot Worklife Rewards Visa Signature Card. This new OfficeDepot credit card has both a consumer and business version. Its key features include:

  • 5% rebate (in statement credit) on OfficeDepot purchases with no exclusions
  • 1% rebate on all other purchases
  • $25 bonus after first purchase made with the card
  • 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for up to 6 months (with a BT fee of 3%, min $5, max $99)
  • Purchases made prior to March 1, 2008 that equal to or greater than $499 may qualify for a Deferred Interest Promotion, where no payments need to be made until January 2009*

One inconvenient feature of the card is that it requires a purchase to be made at Office Depot before your rebates are released to you. If a purchase is not made at Office Depot within a given month, rebates will continue to accrue until the next Office Depot purchase is made, at which point the rebates will be applied as a statement credit. You can find the Worklife Rewards Visa application here.

Other Credit Card Options for Purchasing Office Supplies
If you are looking for a good credit card to use on office supplies, however, you should consider a few alternatives. Consider the benefits of the American Express SimplyCash Business Card:

  • Earn a full 5% cash back on gas, office supplies (at any office supply store) and wireless service
  • Earn 1% everywhere else
  • 0% intro APR on purchases for up to 12 months

In addition, as part of the Amex’s OPEN savings network, using the SimplyCash card gives you automatic discounts ranging from 3 to 25% on purchases at companies like FedEx, Delta, and Hertz.

A couple other cards to consider are the Discover Business Card (with review here) and the Advanta Business Card with Rewards, both of which also give 5% cash back at office supply stores.

Leave a comment

NYC Chase Cardholders: Get $10 for Every $150 Spent Commuting

Chase

Here’s a deal for Chase customers in New York City:

Enroll your Chase Debit and Credit Cards and get cash back on MetroCard® purchases at MetroCard Vending Machines and NYC Yellow Cab fares from January 1 to March 31, 2008.

Here’s how:
1. Enroll your Chase Card now
2. Use your enrolled Chase Card for MetroCard purchases at MetroCard
Vending Machines and NYC Yellow Cab fares
3. Earn $10 for every $150 you spend with your enrolled Chase Card

Note that PIN-based transactions do not qualify under this promotion. To enroll, see this link.

Leave a comment

The Latest Impacts of the Credit Crunch on Balance Transfer Offers

Balance Transfer Offers, Chase, Discover

In the latest sign that the credit crunch is spreading, the AP reports that the rate of delinquent and defaulting credit card accounts has skyrocketed recently. Credit card companies have been revising their estimates of 2008 write-offs upward due to defaults; for instance, Capital One last month projected at least $4.9 billion of default-related write-offs.

Every issuer has responded in at least some way to mitigate their risks. This is most evident in my survey of offers to new customers. Here are some illustrative examples:

  • Just in the past month, Discover has reduced the intro 0% period for purchases on their consumer cards from 12 months to just 6 months.
  • Despite the decline in the prime rate, Capital One has increased the APR on its consumer cards by half a point, also in the past month.
  • Chase has also been aggressive in systematically reducing its exposure by making its balance transfer offers much less attractive. While Chase’s offers of 12 months at 0% APR used to be plentiful on its affinity cards, the available options have shrunk immensely. In fact, the number of cards that offer an intro 0% APR for 12 months has shrunk from well over 100 a half year ago, to just 7, by my latest count. The max balance transfer fee has also increased on many cards, from $75 to $99.

These changes appear to be working for Chase, as its trust was the one exception in October where delinquencies and defaults both declined. Unfortunately for deal-hunting credit consumers, this may translate into deals being leaner in the times ahead.

For reference, here are the 7 Chase offers that I found still carry a 0% intro APR for 12 months:

On an off-topic note, does anyone else find it oddly coincidental that the only university-related card with 0% for 12 months represents a team playing for the national championship in football?

2 comments
1 … 9 10 11 12 13 14